Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The angiogram showed that the tumor was most likely not a glomus tumor as first expected. Dr. Klopfenstein thinks it is an endolymphatic sac tumor which is extremely rare, only 100 or so reported cases. Because the tumor has not yet been biopsied or tested by a pathologist, it is still uncertain which type of tumor it is for sure.

The next step is a meeting with Dr. Klopfenstein tomorrow morning to discuss the next steps. He has asked us to pray about how aggressive we want him to be in removal of the tumor. Being more aggressive decreases recurrence, but increases the risk of damage to the facial nerve.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

On Tues, May 31, Derek is scheduled for his angiogram. We check in at 8am, and will probably be there most of the day at OSF. We appreciated the love and support we felt at church today. God bless you!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Some of you are already aware of what has been happening with Derek's health, but we wanted to update you all after our meeting with the neurosurgeon Dr Klopfenstein this morning.

Derek has had pressure in his ears and ringing noise since the winter, and after a couple of what we thought were ear infections in March/April, went for further diagnosis by his ENT doctor. That examination revealed a mass with blood vessels underneath the eardrum. A CT scan revealed bone loss, and an MRI was done to show more detail of the size of the tumor.

Dr Klopfenstein suspects that this is a benign glomus tumor, but he will not know for sure until surgery. The tumor is approximately 1 ½ inches in size. It has already destroyed much of the bone tissue in the area around his ear. It is growing in against the brain and putting pressure there as well. He does not expect that Derek will recover hearing in his right ear. Surgery in this area is difficult because running through the same area is the nerve that controls facial motion on the right side.

The next step is an angiogram, hopefully early next week. This will determine the extent of the blood vessels in the tumor and help him to decide the next steps. One possible next step would be to embolize the tumor, which consists of placing glue in the vessels supplying the tumor. This would result in less bleeding during surgery.

Surgery will likely then be done to remove some of the tumor and determine whether it is cancerous or benign. How aggressive he is with the surgery will depend upon what type it is. If it did turn out to be cancerous, he would remove as much as possible but there would be a high risk of facial nerve damage in that case. There may then be radiation treatment of some sort. It is too early to know the prognosis.

Please pray for us and Dr Klopfenstein, that the right steps are taken and that we can have trust in God above all else. It has been a hard week. We appreciate and can feel your prayers and support.